Flashback
by Wally-West-Go-Zoom
Summary: Shot by a strange energy weapon, Wally begins to change. 16 wasn't such a bad age, right? Changed genre
1. Chapter 1

Ok, hi people!!! This story is partly inspired by an episode of Stargate SG-1, my other fav show. So, I'll just jump right into it. R 'n R, and enjoy. I own nothing so ya won't get much if you sue me.

Wally West entered his apartment an exhausted man. He removed his black leather bomber jacket and tossed it carelessly over the back of his couch. He made his way down the hall, past his open bathroom door, and into his bedroom. He sat down on the edge of his bed and flipped off his sneakers, hearing them clunk against the wall as he flopped down, his head hitting the pillow.

He reached up and turned off his light as he pulled his quilt up to his chin. He was so tired, he decided to not even bother changing from street clothes to PJ's. before he fell asleep though, he took a few moments to reflect on his eventful day.

Wally West, affectionately called the Fastest Man Alive, fought alongside the Justice League of America as the Flash. Earlier that day, they had battled evil genius Lex Luthor and several of his minions. They had rounded up everyone in the end, but not before Luthor had shot said speedster with some random ray gun.

Superman, Batman, and the Martian Manhunter had been adamant on keeping him in the Watchtower until they cleared him. **_I'm fine, of course_**, he grumbled as he closed his eyes. He fell asleep muttering about stupid evil maniacs and overprotective superheroes.

That night, Wally had weird dreams, though he blamed it on the dozen or so spicy burritos he had for dinner.

When he woke the next morning, he was still half-asleep as he changed into his Flash costume first thing. He went into his kitchen and quickly downed several bowls of cereal and twice as many cups of coffee. Finally satisfied, he stood and retrieved his JLA commlink from his desk.

"Flash to Watchtower. Beam me up!" he said cheerfully. **_Hmm_**, he thought to himself. **_I sound kinda funny. Maybe I'm gettin' a cold._** But Wally wasn't the only one who noticed the change.

"Who are you?" barked a harsh voice over the communication device.

"What're you talking about, Batman?" he asked confused. "It's me! Flash!"

"Who are you?" the Dark Knight barked again. "How did you get this commlink?"

"Look, if this is some kind of joke, it's soooo not funny." Then he realized it couldn't be a joke. He was talking to Batman.

He noticed he had begun to pace at super speed and stopped, forcing himself to calm down. He glanced up and caught a glimpse of himself in his bathroom mirror. Hie blue eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He pulled back the cowl to reveal blonde hair and a face much too different to be his.

"Bruce," he said sharply over the commlink, using Batman's real name to underline the severity of the situation, "you'd better send some people down. We've got a huge problem."


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, hoped ya liked the first chappie! Feel free to enjoy this one too!

* * *

Batman was on monitor duty when the Flash called for transport. The only problem was the fact that the Flash was 20 years old and the voice on the commlink couldn't have belonged to someone older than 16!

"Who are you and where did you get this commlink?" he growled angrily. Who was this punk and what was he doing with Flash's commlink? Did this kid know how much trouble he was in? The voice came again and he was taken aback in shock.

"Bruce?" the voice replied. The kid knew his name? "Send some people down. We've got a huge problem." Batman agreed, though for much different reasons.

* * *

Wally stared at his face in shock. Sure it was his face. The only difference being it was the face he had junior year of high school! Wally was officially flipping out. He returned to his manic pacing as he muttered, "not good, not good, not good. . ."

* * *

Wonder Woman and Superman stood by the transporter as they waited for Green Lantern to show. He finally did and they stepped onto the transporter. 

"I wonder what's wrong with Wally," Wonder Woman thought aloud.

"Probably ran outta coffee an' going through caffeine withdrawl," Lantern muttered as the Martian Manhunter flipped the switch. The three heroes disappeared and rematerialized in an apartment. The first thing that caught their eye was a youth in a Flash costume pacing around the kitchen -

-At super speed.

As they stared in confusion, the boy noticed them. "Oh, thank God!" he cried in relief as he ran over and hugged Lantern.

Lantern looked to the other two for help, bewilderment etched on his face. "Uhh. . ."

The boy stepped back. "Oh, come on!"he cried in exasperation. "You too? What? Do I have to _prove_ it to you? Fine!" He stepped forward, poking his finger into Superman's chest. The Man of Steel was easily a head-and-a-half taller than the teen. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter!" he barked, almost accusingly. "Or should I call you Kal-El, last son of Krypton? You're married to your co-worker, Lois Lane, and you are allergic to Kryptonite!

"Princess Diana of Themyscara!" he cried, turning his attention to the formidable Amazon. "That's not your armor! You stole it from your mommy to help us save the world from evil invading aliens!" Then he grinned slyly. "And we all think you got a crush on Batman, a.k.a Bruce Wayne, Gotham's billionaire, but nobody's got the balls to say anything.

"And John Stewart!" he said in a fake game show announcer voice as he turned to face his friend. "You are an ex-marine and _definitely_ got the hots for a certain Thanagarian. Y'know, Hawkgirl? Or do I have to call her Shayera?" Out of breath, he completed his rant. The other three stared at him in utter shock.

"Wow, ok. . ." Lantern began, but trailed off, having no idea how to respond to that.

"Uhm, I, uh, suppose this means we bring him to the Watchtower for DNA analysis. . ." Superman said uncertainly.

"What?" the boy cried. "What the hell! Didn't anything I just said prove a single goddamn thing? Ooh! I know! Call Dick Grayson! He's my best friend! He'll tell you it's me! C'mon! Son of a. . ." he trailed off, muttering angrily as the four individuals were transported back up the space station, 22, 300 miles above Earth.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, I got nuthin to say cept read 'n enjoy!

* * *

By the time they had rematerialized back on the Watchtower, Wally wore a huge scowl and had his arms crossed across his chest. They stepped down and Batman directed everyone where to go. "Lantern, please escort our. . . visitor to medbay so J'onn can do a DNA test." 

As soon as the small group had dissipated, Superman stepped forward to speak to Batman. "He had a good suggestion." he said quietly. "I believe your ward, Dick, is his best friend. If anyone can identify Wally, it's him."

Batman nodded once. "I'll make the call."

* * *

Meanwhile in Medbay. . . 

"Ow!" Wally cried dramatically. "Stab me in the arm, why dont'cha?"

The Manhunter rolled is eyes as he withdrew an infinitesimally small needle from the crook of his arm. Lantern rolled his eyes as well as he put a hand on the young teen's shoulder. "C'mon. I'll show you to your guest quarters."

"What? Why can't I stay in my room?" he whined.

"Because until that DNA test comes back, we don't know if it can technically be called _your_ room." Wally stuck his tongue out at G. L. "Here we are." Lantern said as they arrived at their destination. "You'll have to stay in here, ok? _Ok_?" he nudged when he went unanswered.

"Fine," the boy grumbled. "I know you're gonna lock the door one way or the other."

Lantern grinned. "That's besides the point."

* * *

"Bruce!" 

The young man strode forward and gripped his mentor's hand with a warm smile.

"Dick," he acknowledged his former sidekick, who now went by Nightwing.

"You said their was something wrong with Wally." he said worriedly, getting right to the point. Wally and Dick had been best friends since they were Kid Flash and Robin on the Teen Titans. "Is he ok?"

"Come see for yourself." He led the young man over to a terminal and gestured to the screen. Dick stifled a laugh.

"That's Wally?" Bruce shrugged.

Wally was running around the room, shouting angrily at the video recorder in the corner of the room, though they couldn't hear him with the sound turned off. Finally seeming to get bored. He stopped, hurled a pillow at the camera and then flipped the bird at them.

Dick laughed, unable to smother it. "Acts like Wally," he snickered. "Can I go talk to him?"

"Please."

* * *

Dick knocked on the door. "What?" came an agitated voice on the other side. 

"It's me, Nightwing."

"Come in!" the voice said, this time with unrestrained relief. Dick quickly punched in the code to open the door. As soon as it was open, Wally crashed into him. "Dick!" he cried. "Oh, thank god! Tell 'um it's me! Please!"

Dick crossed his arms over his chest. "First tell me something only Wally West knows about me."

Wally squinted for a moment, chewing on his lip as he thought. "Uhhh. . . I got it!" An unholy grin crossed his features. "My fourth year on the Titans, we had a _really_ slow, _really_ boring week. Like _nobody_ needed to be saved. I walked in on you reading one of those trashy romance novels and black mailed you with that for a year and a half." he finished with a self-satisfied grin.

Dick stared at him. "Oh, my god, Wally, what happened?"

"Thank you! Finally, someone takes his head outta his- never mind. Just tell 'um it's me!"

* * *

Dick went back up to the main deck to where Bruce waited. "That's Wally," he told him. "I'm sure of it." Then he frowned at the weird look on Bruce's semi-exposed face. "What's wrong?" 

"Was it good?"

"What're you-" he groaned. "The room was wired for sound?" Dick contemplated revenge as Bruce said, "I pegged you as a suspense reader myself. . ."


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, uh. . . nuthin. R 'n R and enjoy! Oh, and please don't hate me when you read this! I will elaborate next chappie.

* * *

Wally sat on one of the exam beds in the medbay, the JLA and Dick standing around him. "Most of the results of your DNA analysis are back," J'onn began. Wally waited for him to continue. 

"And?" he asked, gesturing impatiently.

"The analysis is not fully completed, but the basic test is. For all intensive purposes, you are Wally West."

"YES!" he cried loudly, jumping up. "I told you! HA!!! In your FACE!" he crowed happily, doing a victory dance. They stood there and waited for him to finish. When it appeared that he would be going on for a while, John stepped forward and smacked him hard upside the head. "Ow! What?"

"Chill out," the ex-marine told him sternly.

"So, what caused. . . well, this?" Superman asked, gesturing to Wally's sudden reverse growth spurt.

"That's part of the analysis that has not come back yet," the Martian replied.

"In the meantime, I suggest we try to find the cause on our own," Batman suggested quietly.

"We're having a slow enough day," Hawkgirl scoffed.

Batman shot her a look as the others followed him to the conference room. J'onn stayed behind to wait for the rest of the results.

* * *

"God, Wally how much crap do you eat?" John asked in almost disgust. They were looking at records of places Wally had been in the past week and his bills to show where he'd gone to get food. Many of the fast-food bills were over thirty dollars. 

"Hey!" Wally said defensively as he pointed his finger at John. "Is it _my_ fault I have an accelerated metabolism? No, I think not." John rolled his eyes.

They continued to search through all of those records before delving into his medical records. Hour after hour passed and Wally was bored. By the time they reached the very last medical record, Wally was seeing how long the pencil on his nose could balance on the lead tip.

"Oh, son of a bitch!" Everyone looked up in surprise. Superman knew how to swear? Noticing the looks he was getting, the Man of Steel became self-conscious. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "It's just, now that I see it, it's really obvious."

"You figured it out?"

"I think so."

"Well?"

"Ok, well, do you remember the fight from other day?"

"You mean with Luthor?"

"Yes."

"Ya, why?"

"The energy weapon," Batman said with a slight edge in his voice.

Wally groaned. "You gotta be kidding me! I thought Luthor just invented some dud killing machine!"

"No," Batman said suddenly. "And I don't think Luthor invented it either." Everyone looked at him like he had three heads. "S. T. A. R. Labs was broken into several days ago, and some device was stolen. I think it might be it."

"Then I suppose we should pay S. T. A. R. Labs a visit," Wonder Woman remarked. They all were about to get up and carry out this idea when J'onn came in, his face somber.

"Hey, J'onn," Wally said happily. "Supes figured out what caused, um, this."

"The energy weapon?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"The remaining results from your DNA test have come back." Something in his voice indicated that something wasn't quite right. Sadness? Fear? Batman, of course, had noticed it as well.

"What's the matter J'onn?" he asked sharply.

"The results showed something else with your cells, something wrong." he said quietly.

"Like what?"Wally asked apprehensively.

The Martian swallowed hard. "You- You're dying, Wally."


	5. Chapter 5

Don't hate me, don't hate me!! You'll see, eventually!!!

* * *

"I-I'm what?" Wally asked in shock, staring at the Martian in disbelief. 

"You're dying, Wally."

He sat down heavily in his chair and audibly exhaled a lungful of air. "God, I was kinda hoping you were kidding," he said shakily, his head in his hands. He raised his head to see how the others were taking it. Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl bore the same look of disbelief he did. Batman stared ahead emotionlessly, though those who knew him well would have noticed his jaw was clenched a bit tighter than usual. Superman was looking at J'onn, clearly upset and he was obviously bursting with a million questions. He glanced over at Dick to see his best friend standing partially in the shadows, frowning down at his boots.

"How?" Superman asked.

"The 'weapon'," J'onn said, "was actually a device S. T. A. R. Laboratories created to regress cells of simple organisms for observation. Lex Luthor most likely believed it to be a deadly weapon, though he was right in some respects.

"When fired upon simple cellular structures, it does regress them. When fired upon complex cells, it regresses them as well, to a point, but causes them to become unstable. Wally," he said quietly, turning to his young friend. "You're cells are deteriorating. You have approximately three weeks before they taper and dissolve completely."

Wally, who'd been staring blankly at his hands as he took in this information, suddenly snapped his attention back up as he heard the door slam shut. Looking around, he noticed that Dick had been able to leave without him noticing. He saw Bats catch Superman's eye and the Man of Steel gave a small nod. Batman glided out the door after his former charge.

"Well, nice to know I'm complex," Wally said, trying to lighten the mood, though he failed miserably as his psuedo grin faltered. He stared down again, chewing on his lip. He could feel tears rising in the back of his throat. He was afraid. More afraid than he'd been in a very long time.

He felt a large, strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Superman standing behind him, looking down at him almost protectively with a small, reassuring smile. He quickly looked down again as he felt his eyes begin to water. He bit his lip harder when it began to tremble. He didn't stop, even as he tasted blood. "It's all right, Wally," he heard Wonder Woman say quietly, then, in his peripheral vision, saw her kneel beside him with Hawkgirl behind her. Lantern perched on the edge of the conference table in front of him. He bent his head to look his younger friend in the eye, though Wally stubbornly kept his head down, avoiding their concerned gazes.

"We'll fix this, Wally. I swear, we'll find a way to beat it." Wally nodded as he squeezed his eyes closed. He knew they'd try their hardest, but he didn't know what good it could do or if it was already to late.

* * *

Batman walked down they hallway to Dick's guest quarters. It was an unfortunately long way, so he had more time to brood over the predicament of the League's youngest member. They had to find some way to save his life, whatever the cost. He'd known Wally since the Teen Titans had first formed. It didn't help that he was the same age as his own young protege, even if he did look sixteen right now. 

As he approached Dick's door, he heard loud bangs and angry shouts. The young man, he knew, was able to bottle up his emotions, but eventually, the bottle bursts and they'd spill out. Knowing your best friend was about to die was more than enough to shatter that facade.

He knocked on the door and the noises from within the room stopped.

"Yes?" came a hoarse voice from inside, the careful control in it evident.

"Dick," he addressed him quietly, using his real name was such a rarity while in hero-mode, that he knew it would get his attention. "Open the door." There was silence. Then-

"No."

He was a little taken aback. Dick _never_ disobeyed him, even now. It was almost a militaristic thing, the way Dick responded to older heroes, especially Batman. Scowling slightly, Batman punched in the override code to open the door. Dick stood from where he sat on the bed. Several things in the room were turned over, and there were a few dents in the wall. He turned to face the younger man, who averted his unmasked eyes. "What, Bruce? What do you want?"

"Are you alright?"

"Peachy." he muttered bitterly.

"Dick. . ."

"I don't want to hear it!" he yelled. "My best friend, the one who stood by me through _everything_, is going to die! And, adding insult to injury, there's absolutely nothing I can do to save him!" He sank back down onto the bed as his anger fizzled out. He looked back up a Batman, his red eyes slightly puffy. "What do I do?" he whispered, his voice thick and hoarse. "What the hell do I do?"

Batman hesitated for a moment then sat down beside him and put his arm around his shoulders. "Just be there for him." he replied quietly. "And we're not giving up so easily. Wally won't die if we can stop it. I promise."

Dick instantly felt a little better knowing when Bruce promised something, he'd do everything to keep it. Without looking at his mentor, he whispered, "Thanks, Bruce."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi! Again, don't hate me!!!

* * *

While Dick stayed at the Watchtower, the League went down to S.T.A.R. Labs to gather any information about the device that might help them save Wally. 

As they waited in a lobby-type area, a young doctor came hurrying down the hall. He looked to be in his early thirties. He wore a long white lab coat over plain jeans and t-shirt. He had unkempt, longish brown hair. He would have been handsome if his face and green eyes weren't obscured by large glasses.

"Hello," he said out of breath. "I'm Dr. Neal Andrews." He addressed each hero in turn, and shook each hand. Finally, he turned to Wally. "Kid Flash?" he said unsure. Lantern snickered as the young speedster scowled.

Superman cleared his throat. "Actually, this is the Flash." The doctor raised his eyebrows at him. "That's what the emergency call was about, actually."

"It's concerning the cell regression gun Lex Luthor stole." Batman said, cutting right to the chase.

Superman shot him a look as Dr. Neal gasped. "Oh, no." he said. "That's not good! Do you know what it does and what this means and-"

"Yes," Wally said impatiently. "I'm gonna die in three weeks unless you cough up the schematics so this fine Martian and Bat-impersonator here can study them, build a reverse one and save me. Any questions?"

"Uh. . ." The young doctor shook his head and nervously beckoned for them to follow.

"Something's not right," Lantern said with a frown as they finally stopped inside the cellular regression department office at the end of the hall.

"What do you mean?" Hawkgirl asked.

"Did you notice how we walked by the nuclear and biological weapons studies departments to get here? _Luthor_ passed those up to come to get this one. _Why_?"

"It was intentional." They jumped as Bats spoke from behind them. Then Lantern nodded solemnly.

"That rat bastard has to pay for this," Hawkgirl said, and the others agreed.

* * *

Back up on the Watchtower, Batman and J'onn had been studying the schematics on the weapon. They were taking a break when a call came in. Grundy, Cheetah, and the Shade were wreaking havoc in Keystone City. Superman was about to send some people down when Wally piped up. 

"Clark, I know you're thinking of leavin' me behind, and it's not gonna happen."

"Wally, in your current condition-"

"No, I'm stopping you right there. A) it's my city, and B) I know you guys don't wanna hear it, but there's a big chance I might _die_ in a few weeks. Give me a chance to at least make a difference in what time I have left." He saw them wince, but knew what had to be said.

"Alright," the Man of Steel relented. "Flash, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lantern. Think you four can handle it?" After four nods, they were transported down.

* * *

Lantern was punching Grundy in the chin with a huge glowing green boxing glove as he hovered ten feet above him. Batman was crouched off to the side as he finished tying up the Shade. He stood up and snapped his staff in two over his knee. Wonder Woman was fighting with Cheetah, and they were pretty evenly matched. 

Wally, who'd just finished helping Batman, turned to run over to her. Half way there, he fell. He fell to his knees, gasping as he supported himself with one hand on the pavement, the other clutching his chest. It felt like his heart was going to explode as an unbearable burning ache throbbed in his chest. Tears streamed down his face and blood dripped from his nose.

"Wally?" Wonder Woman called out with evident concern as she flung Cheetah into the side of a building, taking her out of the fight. Suddenly, Wally's limbs began to shake uncontrollably. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed, rolling onto his back. The blood ran more freely from his nose. His whole body shook violently, almost like a seizure. As he blacked out completely, he heard Wonder Woman call out again, much more panicked.

"_Wally?!_"

And then, nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, I will explain last chappie and don't hate me!!! I hope you all don't, but I'm saying it just in case. Sorry for the short chappie, too, but it's good (I think)! Bit mushy too. . .sorry.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Wally was confused. _Where am I?,_ he thought. _Fighting villains, passed out. . ._ Then he remembered. Right, right. He slowly cracked open an eye and then immediately shut it as bright halogen lights assaulted his retina. He hissed in surprise.

"Wally?" came a worried voice, and he felt a hand on his forearm. He cracked open both eyes again as he squinted. He was able to make out Dick's face through his foggy vision.

"Dick?" he asked, surprised by how raspy his voice sounded.

"Yeah, I'm here buddy. You- you're gonna be ok." But something in his voice said otherwise. "Ya want me to tone down the lights?" He nodded. He was able to see again as Dick turned them down.

"Thanks." he rasped. "What- what happened?"

"I couldn't really tell you, man. You want me to get J'onn?"

Wally shook his head. "No, you know damn well what happened. Tell me now, Dicky me boy. You owe me that much."

Dick turned his head away from his friend with a sad sigh. "U-using your powers accelerated your cell disintegration." he said in a quiet, strained voice.

The young speedster swallowed hard. "How much time did I lose?" he asked, hiding his upset as he struggled into an upright position.

"You lost a week, Wal."

"Oh." He started chewing on his trembling lip until it bled.

"Stop it." his friend told him sternly. "You're gonna chew your lip off." Wally consented as he stared down, avoiding his best friend's eyes. "I know you're really scared, but I'm here for you, man. I swear." he told him softly. Wally glanced up at him.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"It's gonna be ok, Wal. We're not giving up." Dick bent down slightly and hesitantly wrapped his arms around his very scared friend. Wally's tears spilled out of his eyes, as he was no longer able to hold them in. "Shh, shh, it's ok, it's ok," Dick whispered comfortingly as he held his friend tighter.

Meanwhile, at the Medbay door, Batman paused as his young protege comforted his terrified friend as he cried. Giving an infinitesimally small, sad smile, he left, leaving them to their grief in peace.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Ok, I'm bringin' in a few more characters!!! The idea suddenly hit me like an 18 wheeler a week or so ago in algebra. Believe me, my teacher is a(n) (insert any **_very_** rude and unprintable insult here). A rock is more interesting and knows more about algebra than him. Ok, enough ranting!!! It's story time!!!

* * *

Batman sat in the lab, staring at the blueprint schematics for the cell regression gun (CRG). He'd started a design for a device that would reverse it's effects. He sighed, frustrated. Something like this would normally take him a month and a half to design and build. He had to do it in a little under two weeks, or Wally was dead. 

Looking down, he saw a part of his blueprint that didn't make sense. Agitated, he erased it with his pencil. The writing tool suddenly snapped in half. He sat back in surprise, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Getting a fresh pencil, he sat down and applied himself to the drawing.

_Settle down,_ he chided himself angrily. _Concentrate!_

* * *

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl walked into the interrogation room, scowling at the chained prisoner smirking back. 

"I was wondering when you would show up." Lex Luthor said smugly. "Is he dead yet?"

"Why, you son of a-"

Superman immediately stepped in front of his two female teammates as they started forward, clearly thinking homicidal thoughts. "No," he told them. "He's _definitely _not worth it."

"Thank you, Superman," he mocked.

"I didn't do it for you," he snapped bitterly. "I did it so the wouldn't be condemned because they gave you exactly what you deserve."

"That hurt. Say, I still get an invite to the funeral, right?"

Superman held Wonder Woman back, but Hawkgirl ducked under his arm with a snarl. She gripped Luthor by the lapels of his shirt and lifted him up to pin him roughly to the wall. There was now obvious fear in his eyes. "**LISTEN YOU WORTHLESS, SCUM-SUCKING WORM!**" she screamed angrily at him. "**YOU ARE THE DIRT BENEATH MY FEET AND YOU DESERVE MUCH MORE THAN PRISON FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE!**" she roared. "_What's to stop me from crushing your throat right here and now?_" she added, her voice dropping to a quiet and deadly growl. Luthor's eyes widened.

"Hawkgirl. . ." Superman began.

"He's right." she hissed as she let him drop heavily and painfully to the ground. "You're not worth my time."

As they turned to leave, Wonder Woman paused, turning back to him where he still sat on the floor.

"If he dies," she said in a dangerously low voice, "you'll be charged to the fullest extent of the law, and you _will _get the death penalty. It's more than you deserve. May Hades have your soul to torture for all eternity." Then she followed her teammates out, leaving Luthor to contemplate this unpleasant future.

* * *

Wally sat in the medbay, stemming his most recent bloody nose with a wad of tissues. It finally stopped and he threw them away. Going to the sink, he washed off the dried blood caked beneath his nose. He let out a sigh as he went back to his bed. 

He was staring out the window when Dick and John came in.

"Hey, kid, how ya doin'?" Lantern asked.

"Fine," he muttered, not looking at him.

"Ah ha, you lie like a rug." he snickered. Wally stuck his tongue out at him.

"Anyway, here," Dick said, throwing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt at him. "Get dressed. There's some people in the conference room who wanna say 'hi'." He smirked. "And they'd probably be scarred by the sight of you in a hospital gown." Again, Wally stuck out his tongue.

"Alright," he consented. "I'll be out in five." As his two friends waited in the hall, Wally changed, wincing at how stiff and miserable he felt. Finally, he grabbed the socks and sneakers Dick had dropped at the foot of his bed.

He opened the medbay door. "Alright, let's go." he mumbled, walking ahead slightly. Lantern and Dick exchanged sly smirks.

They approached the conference room and Lantern walked ahead of him to open it. Two men the same age as Dick and Wally (when not appearing 16, obviously) were standing by the window and talking quietly. Both were in civilian dress. They turned, grinning as the trio came in, recognition sparking in the red head's green eyes, and the black haired man's purple ones.

"Well, if it ain't Kid Flash, back in the flesh!" the red head grinned happily.

"Hey, Wal!" the other man greeted joyfully.

Wally stared wide-eyed in shock. "Roy? Garth?"

"Don't say hi, or nuthin'" the red head, Roy, grumbled sarcastically.

"Troia sends her regards and apologies, she couldn't come," Garth, the black haired man, shrugged.

Wally continued to stare in shock at the original Speedy and Aqualad, his best friends from the Teen Titans, now grown and called Arsenal and Tempest.


	9. Chapter 9

Ha! Bringin' in some old buddies. More twists and meaness in this chappie. Sorry. kinda shortish . . . After this only one more chapter. I'm, like, gonna cry. : ( sobs

* * *

Roy Harper, a.k.a. Arsenal, was the former Speedy, sidekick to Green Arrow. Garth, a.k.a. Tempest, was the former Aqualad, sidekick to Aquaman. Both were on the original Teen Titans with Dick and Wally. 

"Man, talk about déjà vu!" Roy laughed, pulling back from giving Wally a quick hug.

"You guys know what's going on, right?" he asked with a sidelong glance at Dick. He noticed that G.L. had ducked out, probably to give them time to catch up.

"Yeah, yeah we know," Garth said quietly.

"So much to catch up on, so let's not dwell on the bad, m'k?" Roy suggested. "Besides, Bats' is on it, so chances of a bad outcome are, like, what? One-in-about-no-chance-in-hell?" Wally smiled at the flat-out Roy-ness of the statement.

"Alright, I'll tell ya what," Garth said. "I'm comin' up on my hour, so how's about you guys walk with me to the pool, and then we'll grab some lunch in the mess?" Garth's physiology required him to get into water at least once an hour or die (AN:fun, huh?).

"Sounds great." Dick smiled as the others agreed.

Walking out into the hall, the four old friends immediately launched into conversation, laughing over old times.

Half way there, Wally froze, his vision fuzzy.

"Wal?" Dick asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," the speedster insisted with a grin. "I'll meet you guys there. I'm just gonna get a drink," he said, indicating the water fountain back down the hallway (would the Tower have water fountains?).

"Alright. . ." Dick said, not quite convinced.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," he said, and they walked on ahead.

As soon as they were around the corner, he fell heavily against the wall. He reached up to wipe a sudden wetness from beneath his nose and grimaced as he saw it was bleeding hard again. His head spun as he sank to his knees, his vision going in and out of focus. _What fresh hell is this?_ he thought sadly.

"Wally!" he heard Roy cry after what seemed like an eternity later. Then he heard two sets of footsteps running towards him.

"Wally!" He felt them drop beside him and felt hands on his shoulders, gently pulling him up.

"Wal, is it like before?" he heard Dick ask.

"No," he replied in badly restrained panic. "It's worse. I-I can't see!"

* * *

Dick and Roy stood beside J'onn by Wally's bedside. Garth came in a few moments later, his hair wet. 

"What's up?" he asked, concerned.

"It is affecting your vision," the Martian said gravely, looking at test results. "Not only that, but for some unknown reason, most likely your accelerated metabolism, the disease is progressing abnormally fast."

"Meaning how much time left?"

"Three and a half days."

He let out his breath. "Batsy gonna be able to finish in that amount of time?"

"He's informed me that the blueprint is complete and he's started on the actual construction, though he doesn't know how long that will take. Until then, you will have to be confined to the medbay."

"Ok, boy, wow. No pressure." He paused and then went on gravely, very serious. "J'onn, tell me the truth. What're my odds at this point?"

"Not very good, I'm afraid," was the quiet reply.

"That's what I thought."


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, this is it, the end! I'm so sad 'cause, not to be full of myself, but I love this story! Ok, will Wally live or die? Why you asking me? Read and find out for yourself!

* * *

This was it. Crunch time. Glancing at his watch, Roy grimaced. Wally only had 45 minutes left. He looked back up. 

Dick, never one to stay still, was pacing around the medbay, clearly agitated. Garth was sitting quietly in the corner. None of them spoke and none of them left except for Garth, but even then only for his hourly swims.

He glanced at Wally sadly. He'd gotten much worse over the past few days.

His vision never returned. He was in and out of consciousness, and his temperature was spiking over 103°. He was in a lot of pain, suffering from irrepressible muscle spasms, uncontrollable nose bleeds, and unbearable chest pains. His lips were dry and cracked, and his skin was sweaty and too pale, an awful contrast with his blond hair. It was so hard to watch.

Roy ran a hand through his red hair. He hoped the nanny was alright with his daughter, Lian, for a little while longer. Heaving a sigh, he leaned back against the window, crossing his arms as he hoped to god this wouldn't be the one time Batman was unable to come through.

* * *

Batman sighed in relief as he looked at his watch. Plenty of time. There was 45 minutes left and all he had left to do was attach one piece to the device and- 

No.

He didn't have the part! Getting swiftly to his feet, he ran as fast as he could to the main deck.

"Bruce?"

"Clark," he said seriously, a little out of breath. "Transport me to the cave _now_ and stand-by for transport back."

"Why. . .?"

"NOW!"

Without further question, he did as he was asked. After a rush of light and noise, Batman disappeared and rematerialized in the Batcave. He began tearing it apart, frantically searching for the one part he needed.

"Master Bruce?"

He spun around to face his 'butler'. "Alfred! Where's my latest bat-gadget?"

"I believe it is on your workstation, sir," he replied, slight confusion evident in his british accented voice. "May I ask. . ."

"I need one of the parts for the device to save Wally," he explained hurriedly.

"Oh, dear! I do hope everything turns out well," he said, concerned.

"Me too," he replied as he found what he was looking for and ripped out the part he needed.

"Good luck, Master Bruce."

"Thank you, Alfred." He looked at his watch. "Shit!" he swore angrily. Only ten minutes left. "Superman!" he barked, two fingers on the commlink in his ear. "Transport now!"

Back on the Watchtower, he took off again, running full pelt to the lab.

"Bruce, what's going on?" Superman demanded, flying beside him.

"Just meet me in the medbay." he growled, then turned into the lab as Superman continued on. "And get the others!" he yelled, knowing he'd be heard due to the Kryptonians super-hearing.

Quickly, he installed the final part into the device, he looked at the time.

Three minutes.

Grabbing the device, he took off running again, hoping he'd get there in time. He was half way there with about a minute to go when he was suddenly lifted up and going twice as fast, and the world had taken on a green hue.

Looking behind him, he saw Lantern flying above him, a ringed-up bubble around him to help get him to Wally faster. He nodded in response to G.L.'s grim smile.

Landing outside of the medbay, they burst through the doors with about 30 seconds to go. Everyone was there, standing in a loose and anxious circle around Wally.

The young speedster' heart rate was almost off the chart. Blood basically poured from his nose. Dick and Roy stood on either side of him, holding him down as they tried to protect him from the violent seizure that shook his frame.

Batman raced over and shouldered the two young men out of the way. He placed the semi-flat and roughly circular device on Wally's chest and pressed a series of buttons.

Immediately, the seizure stopped and his nose no longer bled. Before their eyes, his muscles jerked and contracted and his 16 year-old face and body stretched and morphed into the more familiar 20 year-old version.

His heart rate slowly decreased and they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

But his heart rate continued to drop.

_Beep. . . beep. . . . . . .beep. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep._

His heart stopped.

Everyone was instantly tense again as J'onn reached for the defibrillator.

"No, J'onn," Batman said tightly, and the Martian froze. Everyone else turned to him in disbelief. "If the device didn't work, than nothing will," he said, his voice strained and quiet.

J'onn looked up at his emotionless face and tight jaw. But, even without reading his mind, he could hear the pain and misery in his thoughts as they rolled off of him.

_No! It's all my fault!_ _I was too late! It's all my fault!_ _I didn't save him!_ _It's all my fault!_ _I wasn't fast enough, smart enough! It's all my fault! I failed! It's all my fault! Wally's dead and it's all my fault, it's all my fault, IT'S ALL MY FAULT!_

He turned to look at the others in the room. Garth was standing with his back to them. Beside him, Roy stood holding his head as tears dripped from his disbelieving eyes.

Lantern and Hawkgirl stared at Wally blankly, fighting emotion and losing. Hawkgirl had a hand over her mouth and G.L. had a hand on her shoulder.

Wonder Woman cried openly onto Superman's shoulder as he stared at the ground, his face looking haunted.

"NO!" They all turned to look at Dick. "No, Wal, come on! You're stronger than this!" he yelled, running to his side. "WALLY!" He grabbed at his friend's arm as though it would bring him back.

"Dick. . ." Batman began softly, but Dick cut him off.

"No, Bruce, no!" he roared at him. "You promised me, you SWORE that he'd be fine! You swore to me that you'd save him! Dammit, Bruce, you promised me!" he yelled desperately.

As everyone reacted in their own way, J'onn reluctantly turned to shut off the heart monitor when-

_Beep_.

Everyone whipped around. Dick stopped mid-rant and turned with hesitant optimism.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

A raspy cough sounded from Wally's bed and they looked at him tentatively.

"So I take it worked?" asked a hoarse, whispering voice.

"Wally!" Dick ran forward and grabbed his friend's hand in his own. "You ok, Wal?"

"Yeah. Yeah I think so."

Roy and Garth went to stand beside Dick with relieved grins.

The others then went forward. Wonder Woman almost smothered him as she hugged him. As she stepped back, Lantern gripped his other hand and Superman placed a hand on his shoulder. Only Batman stood apart from the others. Wally turned to look at him with a small smile.

"Thanks, Bats. I owe ya one."

Batman nodded once and left. "Love you too!" Wally called loudly after him. Outside the closed door, the Dark Knight paused, allowing a small smirk to creep onto his lips before continuing on his way.

* * *

A week after Wally was back to normal, he sat at a diner with Dick. 

"Hey guys." They looked up, smiling and slid over so Roy and Garth could join them.

"You order yet?"

"Nope."

As if on cue, a young waitress a few years older than them came over, a big smile on her face. "What can I do ya for?"

As they ordered, the waitress hid her shock at Wally's request for an ungodly amount of food.

"You are so buying," Garth laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"So, how you feelin', man?" Roy asked.

"I'm better," he shrugged. "Could definitely be worse."

"Y'know, besides the whole almost dying thing, it was kind of an opportunity, right?" Garth said.

"Yeah, 'cause reliving puberty, and getting zits all over again was _so_ fun." he snorted.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do."

"Y'know, 'cause of you, I had to apologize to Bruce for spazzing at him." Dick told him in mock-scorn.

"Oh boo freaking hoo. Get over yourself, Boy Wonder!" he laughed.

"Hey, boys."

"Donna!"

They jumped up and all tried to hug her at once. Donna Troy, former Wonder Girl and sidekick of Wonder Woman, now called Troia, was the fifth member (and only girl) of the original Teen Titans.

She pulled up a chair and the waitress took her order as they began talking and laughing. Wally looked over at the door, rolling his eyes as he snickered. "Excuse me," he said as the waitress walked by. "Can we have a _much_ bigger table please?" He jerked his head towards the door in response to her questioning look. Her eyes widened as six more people entered the diner.

"They're with you?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"Alright. . ."

"I'm so pawning the bill off on Bruce," Wally muttered to Dick, and they both laughed as the Justice League and former Teen Titans sat down to breakfast.


End file.
